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The_Champ
06-10-2012, 07:02 PM
Stumbled across some interesting photos and information. I knew that the Ross rifle failed to stand up to the rigors of war time conditions in WWI, however I didn't know that it was the choice weapon of many snipers in that conflict.

Thought I'd share some cool photos of this rare rifle.

http://www.milsurps.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14892&d=1281705671

http://www.milsurps.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14886&d=1281705651

http://www.milsurps.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14910&d=1281708426

http://www.milsurps.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14911&d=1281708428

Gunreference1
06-10-2012, 08:38 PM
That's a Ross Mark 3 Sniper rifle. It had a 30.53" (775mm) barrel and the optics were made by the Warner and Swasey Company of Cleveland, OH. Some of these were supplied to the Soviet Army in 1940 and later rebarreled and chambered to 7.62x54R for use by the Soviet 'Running Boar' shooting team to win gold in the 1954 World Shooting Championships.

Steve

ltorlo64
06-10-2012, 08:39 PM
That is one ugly scope.

I didn't even realize they had snipers in WWI. I thought we barely had them in WWII.

Gunreference1
06-10-2012, 08:43 PM
That is one ugly scope.

I didn't even realize they had snipers in WWI. I thought we barely had them in WWII.

Snipers have been around for a long while.

http://www.snipercountry.com/sniphistory.asp

Steve

ltorlo64
06-10-2012, 08:49 PM
Snipers have been around for a long while.

http://www.snipercountry.com/sniphistory.asp

Steve

I said that wrong, I didn't know that the military was training and equiping snipers. I knew that we had them but I thought until more recent times they outfitted themselves. Cool link, thanks.

Penguin
06-10-2012, 10:24 PM
The Ross was a acurate rifle. More so than the SMLE from what I have heard. The problem was that it didn't like the mud and dust of the trenches. I would like to get a Ross rifle one of these days.

The_Champ
06-10-2012, 11:31 PM
Yeah those optics are quite something aren't they?

I've heard that Canada, more than some other nations, embraced the idea of snipers in WWI, and in WWII was the first country to cross train their snipers as scouts as well. Kind of hersay information though, haven't read it in any authoritative sources.

Schuetzenman
07-12-2012, 07:36 PM
That's a new one on me, the Ross Rifle. Nice photos, ejoyed the post a lot.

mrkalashnikov
07-13-2012, 06:22 AM
The adjective "ungainly" immediately comes to mind.

The Ross had a great reputation for accuracy but a terrible one for reliabilty. They were badly prone to jamming issues due to the overly-complicated bolt design. I've read it was common for Canadian soldiers to ditch them in favor of American Springfields or British Enfields.

studmuffin
09-25-2012, 05:30 PM
Worse they were dangerous. If you improperly re assembled the bolt (easy to do) I could come flying back into your face on firing. It was a flawed design attempting to imitate the austro hungarian M95 straight pull.

Dr. Gonzo GED
09-25-2012, 06:03 PM
That is one ugly scope.

I didn't even realize they had snipers in WWI. I thought we barely had them in WWII.
They had sharp shooters who became quite good at taking out heads above the trenchline. It was the first conflict where people started actually taking notes on long distance shooting in different conditions and developed the begginings of sniping as a skillset.

Penguin
09-25-2012, 07:44 PM
For some interisting information on the Ross I would read a Rifleman Went to War. That is a pretty good read.

Durangokid
09-25-2012, 09:40 PM
They do very good in Milsurp matches.